Democratic Republic of the Congo: Program Quality and Development Manager - DRC

About Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is a leading global organization powered by the belief that a better world is possible.
In disaster, in hardship, in more than 40 countries around the world, we partner to put bold solutions
into action — helping people triumph over adversity and build stronger communities from within.
Now, and for the future.

Program / Department Summary

Mercy Corps has been operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) since August 2007, with a staff of over 300 people working in Eastern DRC. The overall country goal is to support vulnerable communities through crises, while fostering programs that build resilience and promote long-term change. Mercy Corps' key programming areas include a combination of longer-term development and immediate humanitarian response programs in order to: 1) Improve water service delivery and ensuring equitable access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene services, in urban and rural areas; 2) Improve food security and nutrition; 3) Promote diversified livelihoods, economic recovery and development. Mercy Corps DRC's humanitarian programs aim specifically to assist populations affected by the conflict and crisis in Eastern Congo. All Mercy Corps interventions in DRC are implemented in a conflict and gender sensitive manner.

General Position Summary

The Program Quality & Development Manager will provide technical guidance and support for grants management, coordination, and program development across the country programs' portfolio of multiple grants. The Program Quality & Development Manager will assist in securing new programs by coordinating or leading proposal development processes, support partnership development, and tracking of new opportunities. S/he will provide technical guidance, capacity building and support to all Grants Officers across the country programs to ensure that appropriate systems and support mechanisms are in place to track, analyze and report on results, as well as to ensure grant compliance. S/he will have oversight of the Mercy Corps Program Management Minimum Standards (PM@MC) function by working closely with the Deputy Country Director of Programs to advise Program Managers/Grants Officers on best practices for program management, in line with PM@MC standards, as well as donor requirements. S/he will have oversight of the development of effective program filing and archiving systems, standardization and capacity building of program teams on the process for program quality checks and the QAC system, and making cross-department processes more efficient (as required). S/he will work collaboratively with the Programs Managers and Directors, Grants Officers, Technical Advisors, and MEL teams, and Headquarters (TSU and Desk) staff. The Program Quality & Development Manager is highly motivated, s/he is an effective communicator, self-driven and able to move forward complex projects with limited daily support and direction; s/he is able to work remotely with internal and external stakeholders to achieve common objectives.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Strategy & Vision

• Recognize opportunities for innovative action and create an environment where alternative view points are welcomed.
• Provide strategic guidance and vision on PM@MC to Mercy Corps DRC' Grants Officers, Program Managers and Directors.
• In coordination with management, set direction by prioritizing and organizing actions & resources to achieve objectives and contribute to country-wide strategy development. This includes supporting development of any sector-specific strategies.

Program and proposal development

• Contribute to or lead proposal development and the design of new programs.
• Provide support for prepositioning and new program strategy design efforts.
• Liaise with the Programs, Finance and Operations teams, and when necessary external partners, in the development of budgets of funding proposals.
• Streamline the program development process to improve communication and coordination between technical leads, support teams, HQ, partners, etc.
• Build capacity of Program Managers/Grants Officers engaged in proposal development on proposal development processes (in line with PM@MC and internal processes) accordingly.

PROGRAM quality Management

• Provide technical oversight to Program Managers/Directors and Grants Officers to develop program filing and archiving systems and to ensure programs' documentation is filed, in compliance with PM@MC, donors' regulations and good practice.
• Provide technical guidance to Program Managers/Directors and Grants Officers to set up effective internal and external program-coordination structures.
• Work with the DCD-P and Internal Control to develop and implement a standardized process to conduct program quality spot checks and monitoring.
• Maintain a grants/report tracker and provide regular management information to the Country Leadership Team and HQ Desks on the performance of the grants portfolio.
• Provide support to Program Managers/Directors/Grants Officers at key implementation moments (such as kick-off meetings, program initiation meetings, 90 day inception meetings, 90 day end of program transition meetings).
• Maintain effective communications with Headquarters staff and program teams on program quality and grants tracking issues, and information requests from internal/external sources.

CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT AND COORDINATION

• Support the DCD-P and MEL Director in the development of an Adaptive Management culture at country-level, providing training and guidance in adaptive management techniques and decision-making.
• Build capacity of program teams with information, tools and resources to improve performance and reach objectives, and review programmatic tools (implementation and follow-up of QAC process, development and/or revision of SOPs, etc.).
• Organize workshops, trainings (for Mercy Corps DRC' staff and partners) as needed to answer the programs' needs.
• Under the leadership of the DCD-P, set-up a system to promote coordination across programs and programs and program support departments.

Representation AND COMMUNICATION

• Provide support to the DCD-P, Program Directors and Managers to represent Mercy Corps programs with national and international counterparts, donors, partners and participate in coordination forums as required.
• Provide support to Program teams in the organization of donors' visits.
• Support the development strategic, cross-program communication materials, such as sector profiles, impact reports, program briefings, leadership and positioning pieces, key messages, talking points, and other relevant pieces.

Security

• Ensure compliance with security procedures and policies as determined by country leadership.

Organizational Learning

• As part of our commitment to organizational learning and in support of our understanding that learning organizations are more effective, efficient and relevant to the communities they serve, we expect all team members to commit 5% of their time to learning activities that benefit Mercy Corps as well as themselves.

Accountability to Beneficiaries

• Mercy Corps team members are expected to support all efforts toward accountability, specifically
  to our beneficiaries and to international standards guiding international relief and development work, while actively engaging beneficiary communities as equal partners in the design, monitoring and evaluation of our field projects.

Supervisory Responsibility

Grants Intern(s). The number of reporting staff is to be determined.

Accountability

Reports Directly To: Deputy Country Director – Programs

Works Directly With: Program Directors and Managers, Grants Officers, MEL Department, Finance Manager, Operations Director (and associated Managers), Gender and Protection Manager, Compliance and Internal Process Advisor, Accountability department, HQ-based desk teams, and TSU staff, regional humanitarian response team.

Knowledge and Experience

• BA/S or equivalent in international studies, economics or other relevant field; MA/S preferred.
• 3-5 years of experience with European and US institutional donors, including grants management, and proposal development.
• Field experience in both emergency and development environments preferred.
• Experience with the reporting & compliance with a variety of donors, such as ECHO, OFDA, USAID, DFID or private foundations
• Ability to work across diverse teams and get buy-in from a variety of stakeholders is essential.
• Demonstrated ability in proposal development and program design required.
• Advanced written and spoken English and French is required.
• Ability to deliver high quality deliverables within short deadlines.
• Ability to multi-task and juggle several tasks and relationships at one time.
• Previous experience building staff capacity/training and providing technical guidance required.
• Excellent communication skills, experience in representing an organization.
• Demonstrated proficiency with the MS Office software (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint) is required.
• Proven ability to work effectively in multi-cultural teams and with technical and administrative staff and consultants.

Success Factors

The successful Program Quality & Development Manager will combine exceptional writing skills and experience in providing technical support across program teams. S/he will also have proven experience with cross-cultural team and will possess high level of adaptability and be able to adjust to the constantly changing working environment. S/he will have previous experience working on a variety of different programs/sectors in emergency and development settings. Prioritizing, problem solving, ability to seize opportunities, attention to detail and strategic vision are essential. The most successful Mercy Corps staff members have a strong commitment to teamwork and accountability, thrive in evolving and changing environments and make effective written and verbal communication a priority in all situations.

Living Conditions / Environmental Conditions

This position is an unaccompanied position. Shared housing will be provided in Goma according to Mercy Corps DRC housing policy. Goma is a provincial capital of over 700,000 inhabitants. Travel may be required up to 20% of the time to programs in Eastern Congo. Living in Goma is comfortable, although water and electricity can be unstable. Outside Goma, travel can be dangerous and unpredictable due to armed forces and rebel activity.

While security is quite stable in Goma, Eastern Congo continues to be an arena of violence and insecurity. Mercy Corps' sub-offices experience variable levels of insecurity, with the situation closely monitored by UN peacekeepers. Air travel is necessary to get from one end of the country to the other. Mobile phones and cellular service are widely available. Internet is available in all Mercy Corps offices. Travel to field sites will be required where living conditions are clean and secure, but basic. There are a number of health services available with evacuation options for serious illnesses. There is reasonable access to most consumer goods, although they can be expensive.

Mercy Corps Team members represent the agency both during and outside of work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues. Mercy Corps team members represent the agency both during and outside work hours when deployed in a field posting or on a visit/TDY to a field posting. Team members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner and respect local laws, customs and MC's policies, procedures, and values at all times and in all in-country venues.

Fostering a diverse and open workplace is an important part of Mercy Corps' vision. Mercy Corps is an Equal Opportunity Employer regardless of background. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment.

PI104550952

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